CARY PARKWAY

Cary Parkway Trail Bridge
2021-2023, Cary, NC

Vicki Scuri SiteWorks with Alexandr Polzin
Engineers: Kimley Horn
Sponsored by the Town of Cary 

Bridge within Nature | Nature within Bridge
The enhancements for the Cary Parkway Bridge represent the idea of a bridge within nature, as the bridge itself spans through the trees, and the idea of nature within the bridge, presented as a series of large leaf panels patterned with arrays of gradating circles.

The trees, their branching and leaves create a special character for Cary Parkway, North Cary Park and the Black Creek Greenway. This inspires our work. We abstracted this inspiration to create a meaningful experience at two scales.The large scaled leaf pattern panels are a playful representation of the trees. They respond directly to the curving form of the bridge truss and the angles within its structure. This establishes their size and orientation. From a distance, they read as an array of leaves and, from on the bridge, they frame views out to the trees beyond.

At night, the lighting highlights key moments along the bridge, identifying it as a feature in the landscape, from the road and the landscape. Shining upward onto specific areas of the bridge, the lighting transforms infrastructure into an identity beacon for the area. Inside the bridge, lighting at the center of the bridge, aimed down from the large arch illuminates both the pattern panels and the bridge deck, creating a special moment halfway along the crossing.

When viewed from the road, trail, or on the bridge, the enhancements create a celebratory sense of place. They do not camouflage the bridge, but rather transform it into an elevated expression of its site and context. It will stand as a beautiful feature in the area.